


butterflies somewhere

by snailesbian



Series: moderation [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, he's a good boy but he lies to avoid being Known, suga and bokuto as cowokers w a few lines, tsukki meets kuroo while on vacation w yams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:48:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29127474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snailesbian/pseuds/snailesbian
Summary: But sometimes, Kei needed to accept that he was indeed a burning marshmallow.So, he closed his mouth, he took a deep breath, and he fell into the fire he built himself.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei
Series: moderation [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/590200
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34





	butterflies somewhere

**Author's Note:**

> title from 'would you be so kind' by dodie

Kei was not in the mood for this. He had wanted to come on a Nice Vacation at the Nice Resort with Yamaguchi’s Nice Family, but he did not want to address one of his reasons for accepting the Nice Invitation.

“Tsukki you can’t avoid all your problems.”

Kei sighed, “Yamaguchi, weren’t you the one that asked if I wanted to come on this vacation?”

In response, Yamaguchi rolled his eyes, “Yeah, but at the time I didn’t realize you were only accepting to get away from your brother who very conveniently just got home from university.”

Kei sighed again. He did that a lot when Yamaguchi talked about Akiteru.

“I would have told you if you had asked.”

“Kei.”

It was the first day of Yamaguchi’s Nice Family Vacation and the last thing Kei wanted to do was upset his decidedly Very Nice Best Friend this early on. Kei knew Yamaguchi wasn’t actually upset, but if there was one thing Kei was good at, it was getting out of conflict.

“I’ll be back in an hour or two.” Kei said, grabbing his phone and room key.

“You’re avoiding your problems again, Tsukki.”

Kei shut the door.

  
  
  


+

  
  
  


On their tour of the resort that morning, Kei had seen a fire pit next to the beach entrance and he tried to find it now. Especially since he hadn’t thought the whole “storming out at night” thing through. He was in a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and if he wasn’t cold before, he definitely was now. Or, more cold than he usually is. He’s always a little cold.

A warm light shone down a path and he walked towards it, heat slowly reaching him. The fire pit was a covered area with a rounded, high backed bench surrounding the actual fire, there was an opening where the trail led to. There were decorative trees surrounding the space and Kei thought it looked like a very Nice (and warm) place to hide out until he went back to the room.

He sat down and leaned back, soaking in the warmth.

And then a throat cleared.

He didn’t look up, already guessing who it was.

“Yamaguchi, I said I would be back later.”

“Uh, I’m not Yamaguchi, but I’m sure he would love to know that you’re thinking about him.”

Kei shot up, looking around, eyes landing on a boy about his age sitting almost directly across from him. Whoever he was, Kei had to agree with him, he definitely was not Yamaguchi. His hair and eyes were dark, but that’s where the resemblance stopped. His hair was an unruly mess, and his smirk was more than a little intimidating. Kei wondered when he had gotten there and how Kei hadn’t noticed him.

He must have looked alarmed because the boy’s smile widened, “I’ve been here the whole time you know,” he said as if reading Kei's mind. He shifted forward. “I was surprised you didn’t see me. You look like the type who would be pretty observant.”

He was right, Kei _was_ usually observant. He guessed it wasn’t a surprise he missed him. He was cold in all meanings of the word, and avoiding his problems (as Yamaguchi put it), and he couldn’t be blamed for not noticing some boy who he was still sure appeared out of nowhere.

But Kei did’t say any of this, instead he just shrugged, “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

Kei weighed his options. On the one hand, he could get the weight of everything that was happening off his chest. He would never see this person again after all. On the other, he would actually have to address his emotions and that was never a good thing for Kei to do. But he hadn’t complained in a while, and this stranger was cute. Like, really cute. 

“Sure.”

Kei thought that the boy should back away, but instead he just moved closer and offered a smile.

“Kuroo Tetsurou.”

Kei didn’t return the smile, “Tsukishima Kei.”

Kuroo smiled, and Kei didn’t like what it did to his chest.

  
  


+

  
  


Kei ended up talking with Kuroo for more than just the couple hours he promised Yamaguchi he would be gone.

By the time he made his way back to the condo room, it was at least two in the morning and Kei was tired. He was exhausted, actually. But Kuroo, for all of his teasing and flirting, was one of probably five people that Kei wouldn’t be too annoyed by seeing a second time. And if someone asked if the primary reason he was on the list was his face (which was not pretty in slightest), or his crooked grin (that did not make his heart lurch, no way), Kei would have to deny. He was good at listening and even better at giving advice. And he was smart. And, okay, maybe his face was a factor too. But it was just his face. Maybe his- no not his smile either. Not his thighs or broad shoulders. Or his god-awful hair. Absolutely not.

He couldn’t decide if he was surprised or not when he found Yamaguchi still awake, playing some game on his handheld when he walked into the room.

Yamaguchi looked up, “Hey, Tsukki.”

Kei shut the door quietly, “Hey.”

“Did you get lost?” Yamaguchi’s tone was playful, but his eyes were genuinely concerned.

Kei shook his head. “No, I just found someone to talk to.”

Yamaguchi raised his eyebrows. “You talked to a stranger for-” He peeked at his phone. “-four hours?”

Kei shrugged, not really wanting to get too deep into this topic.

“Were they cute?”

Kei didn’t answer, but the light blush that appeared on his cheekbones gave Yamaguchi the answer he was looking for if his chuckle was anything to go off of.

  
  


+

  
  


Kei had been counting on not seeing Kuroo again. He had told himself, “Kei, you do not know this boy and you will not see him again.”

And he hadn’t. He had gotten through almost six whole days Kuroo free.

On the last day, his luck ran out. He was leaving the pool with Yamaguchi a little more red than the first day (despite his excessive use of the highest possible spf sunscreen he could find) when he spotted Kuroo walking towards them. There was no way to avoid him, he had already seen them and Kei let out a long sigh. Yamaguchi looked at him questioningly until a loud, “Tsukishima-kun!” was heard, which was when his worried eyes lit up, and Kei knew he should brace himself for whatever Yamaguchi was about to say.

“Hello, Kuroo-san.”

Kuroo grinned and came to a stop in front of the pair.

“Tsukki, who is this?” Not too bad. Kei expected a lot worse.

“Oho?” Kuroo’s grin widened. “Tsukki? That’s a cute nickname.” Correction: this was just as bad as Kei expected.

“Don’t call me that.” Kuroo didn’t hear him.

“So,” the teasing lilt from the other day was still there. “is this Yamaguchi?”

Yamaguchi grinned as they began talking and Kei wanted nothing more than to sink through the sidewalk.

What felt like hours passed and they were still talking (it had only been mere minutes). Kei didn’t understand how two people could have this much to say. Of course, he had talked with Kuroo for a good four hours but that was different. Or it wasn’t. Because it’s not like there was anything different about him and Kuroo compared to Yamaguchi and Kuroo. In the end he was just another cute guy that he would never see again after today. And there was nothing different. Just two guys being dudes. He would never see him again. (Is what he said last time but Kuroo was very much standing in front of him and Kei was not at all worried about what this boded for the future.)

Then, Yamaguchi was moving forward, giving a quick wave to Kuroo and a knowing look to Kei, and there Kuroo was, looking at him in a way so soft that it made Kei’s breath stop momentarily. It was Nice.

"Today's your last day." He stated, and, for a moment, Kei wondered how he knew before registering Yamaguchi probably clued him in.

So he nodded.

“Would you want to talk again? Same place as last time?” It was gentle, no teasing undertones. Nice.

Kei didn’t register himself nodding until Kuroo’s small smile grew increment by increment.

“Nine?”

Kei nodded again, unable to reply with words.

“Alright, I’ll see you then, Tsukki.” He said with a wink, and walked off. Kei was once again shocked at the ability one person had to make him speechless.

He caught up with Yamaguchi, who had stopped just a little ways up.

“You _are_ going to see him again, right?” Yamaguchi asked in such a tone that made it seem like the only possible answer was yes. 

Kei complied, “Yeah, I guess.” Obviously.

“Good. Make sure you get his number. He’s cute.”

Obviously.

  
  
  


+

  
  
  


Nine o’clock rolled around quicker than Kei was ready for. He was fully packed and really only wanted to sleep, but he couldn’t (he tried, Yamaguchi stopped him). It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Kuroo, he was on the short list of People Tsukishima Kei Wouldn’t Mind Seeing More Than Once. Kei just didn’t know why Kuroo wanted to see him. Still, he made his way to the fire pit to see Kuroo sitting there with two long sticks (one already in use) and a pile of marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate bars. Each in their respective packaging.

“S’mores?” Kei asked, disbelieving.

“S’mores.” Kuroo confirmed, grinning, like Kei shouldn’t have expected anything less.

Kei sat down beside Kuroo, accepting the stick he was offered.

“What if I told you I didn’t like s’mores?”

“I would say that you still grabbed the stick from me.”

Kei nodded.

They sat like that for a few minutes, marshmallows toasting, not really talking.

“So,” Kuroo started.

Kei turned to look at him.

“This is your last night here,” Kei still didn’t know where he was going with this. He knew this was his last night. They both knew. It was Obvious. “and I just wanted to have a nice chat in case we never see each other again.”

Kei was good at a few things in life. One was starting conflict. One was getting out of conflict. Another was not being an asshole the first time he met someone. Actually, he’s not even good at that. He didn’t even know why it’s on the list of Things Tsukishima Kei Is Good At. He was very decidedly an asshole at all times. Just a little less so upon a first meeting. And even then-

The point is, he didn’t want Kuroo’s final impression of him to be his “true self” as Yamaguchi would (hopefully) jokingly call it. Even if he never saw this human being for the rest of his life. He wanted one (1) person to think that he is, in fact, not an asshole.

But Kuroo’s got that look on his face again, and he knows that if he ran away he would regret it for, like, at least a few weeks. Which is a lot in Kei regret time. So he stays.

“Okay.”

There’s a few minutes of silence, in which Kei managed to make a s’more and Kuroo managed to catch his marshmallow on fire and allow it to fall to a fiery end. Sometimes Kei felt like that marshmallow.

“Aren’t you a university student?” Kei laughed. “How did you manage to do that?”

Kei immediately regretted bringing up university. What if they were going to the same one? Would Kuroo try to stay in touch if they weren’t? Would he want to see Kei again if they _were_?

Did Kei want this stranger to know where he was going to be for the next four years? What if this stranger was going to the same school?

But sometimes Kei felt like a burning marshmallow, falling into the flames. “You _are_ a student, right?”

Kuroo nodded, “Yeah, I'm studying in Tokyo.”

Kei hummed, but was internally panicking.

“Tokyo, huh?” He tried to keep his tone upbeat.

Kei prayed Kuroo would answer no. He really hoped he would. He also knew he would not. He just said he was.

Of course the universe was against him though, what was new there?

“It’s close to home.” Kuroo smirked, but there was no malice behind it. “Why so curious? Is that where you’re headed too?

Kei would normally answer yes. Honesty is the best policy as someone with consistently good morals would say.

But the knowing glint was growing on Kuroo’s face and so instead he answered, “No, I’m staying in Miyagi.”

A beat. Did he really just say that?

Kuroo raised an eyebrow, “You’re staying in Miyagi? Didn’t you just tell me a few days ago about how problematic your life there is?”

And Kuroo’s expression was so open, so genuinely worried, and so Nice that Kei didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t just say sike, it wouldn’t help with his whole not-an-asshole vibe he was attempting to give off. And Kuroo was on the list of People Tsukishima Kei Wouldn’t Mind Seeing More That Once. Except he just ruined that, probably. Most likely. Definitely.

This was his life now, as a liar, so he shrugged his shoulders in response and repeated Kuroo’s own words. “It’s close to home.”

Kuroo didn’t look like he believed him, but he didn’t comment. 

And it hurt him, but it was easier. And Kei was a burning marshmallow, so he let himself fall into the fire of the moment and Kuroo’s smiles.

  
  


+

  
  


The first week of university went exactly how Kei expected it to. A lot of syllabi and names he would not remember. In the afternoons he had a job. He had somehow landed a job at the campus coffee shop thanks to one of Akiteru’s friend’s having an in with the manager. (The one thing Akiteru was good at these days, if he was being honest). He had a shift with some guy named Sugawara (“Call me Suga'' he had said and his smile was so kind that Kei couldn’t even think of doing anything else except that) who was nice and possibly one of the prettiest people he had ever seen.

Knowing Suga, Kei seemed to know everyone else as well, even without meeting them. Most of all some guy named Sawamura Daichi, another third year who worked the coffee shop's night shift. Suga somehow managed to tell Kei everything about him in the span of the first half of their first shift. Apparently the two had somehow never met, despite working at the same job, and having the same friend circle. It sounded highly unlikely, but Suga had had a “small” crush on him since he had first seen him in their first year. And while he could hardly imagine an ethereal being like Suga with a mortal, he was willing to accept that if Suga approved, this guy must also be perfect. But Suga had never even talked to the guy, so maybe even angels could be wrong.

"Maybe you could talk to him?" Kei suggested one morning.

Suga almost dropped the drink he was topping off and gave Kei an appalled look, so he didn't bring it up again.

He also learned about the other third years Suga was friends with. He learned that Bokuto Koutarou was a party and if Kei ever had a shift with him just to expect him to flirt with the pretty second year photography major that comes in every day. Suga told him not to count on him to always make the drinks right, but there was no one better with the customers. Oikawa Tooru wasn’t a god, but he might as well be. His longtime best friend and not quite as longtime boyfriend was Iwaizumi Hajime and he was the only one besides Suga that could knock any sense into Oikawa. Suga then corrected himself, saying Yaku probably could, but Yaku could surprisingly knock sense into anyone. Kei chose not to ask why this was surprising. There was also Ushijima Wakatoshi and Tendou Satori who were complete opposites, but always together. Suga mentioned in passing a Daishou Suguru, but then said that Kei should stay away from him. Apparently, the only person who could successfully handle him was Kuroo.

Kei wondered if Suga could sense his panic (he hoped he couldn’t).

“Kuroo Tetsurou?” Kei asked, hoping he only sounded vaguely interested which was basically very interesting for Kei.

“Oh do you know him?” Suga sounded curious as to how Kei would know Kuroo, but, simultaneously, as if he was privy to any secret Kei might be hiding about him.

Kei shrugged, “You could say that.”

Suga still looked like he knew too much so Kei cleared his throat and reached for a change in conversation, “So what’s your major?”

“Education. You?”

“Music.”

Suga nodded, “So why did you come here instead of a school that specializes in that kind of thing?”

Kei flushed. “They offered a paleontology elective here,” he managed to get out.

Suga chuckled, “Dinosaurs, huh?”

Kei nodded, “This is the only school that offered a course.”

“Dinosaurs.” Suga repeated as if he couldn’t believe it. Which, okay, it was kind of a niche interest, but it wasn’t that uncommon. Kei guessed that not many people’s dinosaur obsession lasted them past primary school. But the way the word rolled off of Suga’s tongue made him nervous, like there was a storm coming and Kei was in the middle of it.

  
  


+

  
  


There was a storm coming but not the storm he expected. Bokuto Koutarou was a typhoon. When he moved it was the wind and when he spoke it was the waves.

And Kei hated water.

It wasn’t like Bokuto was a bad person or said mean things. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He had the best intentions and was probably a great friend too. It’s just that he was loud. And excitable. And flirted with that second year regular too much. And was best friends with Kuroo Tetsurou.

During Kei’s interactions with Kuroo, he never pegged him as someone who would be friends with someone like Bokuto. Kuroo, despite being scheming, seemed pretty mellow.

But maybe that was a facade. Maybe Kei really didn’t know this guy and it was a waste of time to even think about him.

Kei took a deep breath.

He wasn’t going to think about Kuroo because Kuroo made him do things he normally wouldn’t do, like lie and drop drinks at the mere mention of his name, and maybe that second one wasn’t Kuroo’s fault, but Kei needed to have his life together. He was an adult now, if just barely, and he needed to act like it. So he stopped thinking about Kuroo and moved on with life.

But that was hard when Bokuto was, once again, best friends with the guy.

“Bro!”

Kei was in the dry stockroom grabbing some flavor pumps for up front when he heard it. Maybe he had been foolish to think this moment wouldn’t have come. Maybe he had been hoping for the downfall of a friendship rather than owning up to his mistake.

There were some muted voices and he heard a loud grating laugh that okay, wasn’t _that_ grating, actually, but was incredibly distinct and lurched through Kei’s chest.

Bokuto’s voice rang out from the counter. “Yeah, Tsukki’s here! He should be right back up soon!”

If Kei had any choice in the matter he wouldn’t be right back up at all, but the flavor sauce was for a customer who was waiting and so he had no choice. He schooled his expression and put his shoulders back and walked through the swinging door to the front of house.

Kuroo didn’t look surprised to see him, but the warmth that had been in his eyes that week by the firepit was gone. 

He was smirking, but it wasn’t Nice. “Tokyo, huh?” he echoed Kei’s words.

“It’s far from home.” Kei replied, echoing a memory of what he could have said. He continued to make the sweet and highly caffeinated drink for the small girl waiting patiently by the counter.

Kei passed the girl her drink and she smiled and hurriedly rushed out.

The café was now empty and Bokuto was now looking between the two. It seemed as if a thought had just dawned upon him.

“Wait, bro,” Kei and Kuroo both turned to look at Bokuto. “Tsukki is your vacation boy.”

Kuroo sighed and Kei flushed. Had Kuroo been talking about him? Had he been wondering just as Kei had-

“Tsukki, why did you lie to my man Kuroo? What did he do to you?”

His thoughts were halted immediately and were replaced by a loud static noise that left him open mouthed and gaping between the two boys.

But sometimes, Kei needed to accept that he was indeed a burning marshmallow.

So, he closed his mouth, he took a deep breath, and he fell into the fire he built himself.

“Kuroo scared me.”

It was the truth, sure, but really, Kei? There was no other way to phrase that? 

Kuroo looked like he wanted to say something, but Kei pushed forward in a careful tone.

“I don’t...like people. Kuroo was tolerable. That scared me.”

‘Kuroo was tolerable’ was an understatement of the century, but it was all he could manage. He began wiping the counter down instead of meeting either of his upperclassmen in the eyes. Not knowing either of them well enough to know what to expect from that.

He did not know what to expect, but he definitely did not expect a laugh from Kuroo.

“Oh, Tsukki,” he wiped a fake tear from his eye. “If you were intimidated that’s all you had to say.”

Kei let out a huff, “I wasn’t intimidated. I thought your hair might be a result of a supernatural curse and didn’t want to get looped in your nonsense.”

“Aw, this?” Kuroo smoothed through his hair to little avail. “This is all natural.”

The light was back in Kuroo’s eyes, and maybe, of all the fires a marshmallow could fall into, that one wasn’t all bad.

**Author's Note:**

> it's been 84 years.....
> 
> i've been getting relatively frequent notfis for my first two parts of this little au for the last 5 years. and finally, today, i felt enough creative energy to return to this. ty for those who have read the first two parts while i have been awol and enjoyed it. i am not going to promise anything in terms of updates but this has been burning a hole in my wip's for entirely too long so i busted it out when i lost motivation to work on my original ish.
> 
> if you enjoyed drop a kudo or bookmark and i will love u forever <3
> 
> follow me on [tumblr](http://saltkishima.tumblr.com) :)


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